Poll: First Lady Far More Popular than President

Highly popular First Lady Michelle Obama is a little less well-liked this month but still rates far ahead of her husband as far as most voters are concerned.

New Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveying finds that 55 percent of U.S. voters have at least a somewhat favorable opinion of Mrs. Obama, down seven points from November and the lowest overall finding of the year. The new number includes 31 percent with a very favorable view of the first lady.

Thirty-seven percent (37 percent) regard Mrs. Obama unfavorably, including 17 percent who view her somewhat unfavorably and another 20 percent with a very unfavorable opinion. This marks the first lady’s highest overall unfavorables of 2008.

Since Rasmussen Reports’ monthly surveying on Mrs. Obama began in early March, her previous favorables have ranged from 58 percent to 67 percent and her unfavorables from 24 percent to 35 percent.

By comparison, the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll yesterday found that 25 percent of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that President Obama is doing his job. Forty-six percent (46 percent) Strongly Disapprove, giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of –21. That’s the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this president.

Fifty-three percent (53 percent) of voters say Mrs. Obama will be at least somewhat involved in policy decisions, down slightly from 56 percent in November. The new figure includes 18 percent who say she will be very involved. The overall number has ranged from a low of 51 percent in September to a high of 60 percent in late May.

Thirty-three percent (33 percent) say the first lady will be not very or not at all involved in policy decisions.

Women voters have a much more favorable view of Mrs. Obama than male voters do. Women are also more inclined to think that the first lady is involved in policy decisions.

Eighty-five percent (85 percent) of Democratic voters have a favorable opinion of the first lady, compared to 33 percent of Republicans and 43 percent of voters not affiliated with either party.

But GOP voters feel more strongly than Democrats or unaffiliateds that Mrs. Obama is involved in policy decisions.

Just after the November 2008 election, 62 percent of voters said Mrs. Obama was more likely to be an activist first lady like Hillary Clinton than a more traditional one like Laura Bush.

Seventy-three percent (73 percent) of voters are confident in the quality of the Secret Service’s protection of the Obama family following a White House state dinner in late November that was crashed by two uninvited guests.

Sixty percent (60 percent) of Americans say there is too much media coverage of the president’s personal life and family. Eighty-two percent (82 percent) agree that the media should honor the president’s request to avoid taking pictures of his two young daughters, Malia and Sasha, when he is not with them.